Tag: James Campen

Packers adding former assistant coach James Campen to scouting staff

The Packers are adding long-time offensive line coach James Campen as a scouting consultant under GM Brian Gutekunst.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is getting some new help scouting offensive linemen from a former long-time assistant coach. According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers are adding James Campen — a former Packers offensive lineman who spent 15 seasons coaching the position group in Green Bay — as a scouting consultant under Gutekunst.

Campen, who most recently coached the offensive line for the Carolina Panthers, is in Green Bay for Tuesday’s practice.

Campen played eight seasons in the NFL — three with the New Orleans Saints (1986-88) and five with the Packers (1989-93). He was named the team’s assistant offensive line coach by Mike Sherman in 2004 and was later held over on Mike McCarthy’s first staff in 2006. In 2007, McCarthy promoted Campen to offensive line coach, a position he held for the next 11 seasons.

While in Green Bay, Campen coached and developed offensive linemen such as Marco Rivera, Mike Wahle, Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Scott Wells, Jeff Saturday, Josh Sitton, David Bakhtiari and T.J. Lang.

The Packers have long targeted athletic and versatile offensive linemen in the draft. Campen was personally responsible for developing many into great players. Now, he’ll get a chance to find and evaluate offensive linemen for Gutekunst and the Packers.

Campen is one of the NFL’s most respected teachers of the offensive line. He also coached the offensive line for the Cleveland Browns (2019), Los Angeles Chargers (2020) and Houston Texans (2021). He spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Panthers.

Tracking all of the Panthers’ coaching departures in 2024

Here’s who the Panthers are moving on from as they rebuild their coaching staff for 2024

The Carolina Panthers are, once again, going out with the old and in with the new.

So now that we’re tallying up the new, let’s also keep track of the old.

Here are the team’s coaching departures heading into the 2024 campaign:

Ejiro Evero reportedly has 2nd HC interview with Seahawks on Saturday

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Panthers DC Ejiro Evero has a second interview for the Seahawks’ HC job today.

Ejiro Evero’s time in Charlotte may already be coming to an end. And if it is, he may have a few exit strategies available to him.

One of those could be an even greater opportunity out west, as the Seattle Seahawks are reportedly holding a second interview with the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator on Saturday for their head-coaching vacancy. ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter was first with the news this morning.

Evero, who also reached the second stage of the Atlanta Falcons’ search, impressed in his first year with the organization. Despite a catalog of injuries to key players and a lack of complementary football from the team’s struggling offense, the Panthers finished fourth in total defense this past season.

His future in Carolina, however, is more uncertain than it’s ever been this offseason.

With the new duo of president of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales now in place, the coaching staff may experience quite an overhaul in the coming weeks. We already saw the first dominoes drop last night, as the team is seemingly planning on parting ways with special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and offensive line coach James Campen.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown is also likely on the outs. The Panthers have reportedly requested interviews with Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receivers coach Brad Idzik and Philadelphia Eagles senior offensive assistant Marcus Brady for Brown’s position.

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Panthers fans react to departures of Chris Tabor and James Campen

Panthers fans gave their sendoffs to Chris Tabor and James Campen, both of whom are reportedly out in Carolina.

On Friday, the Carolina Panthers took another step in their reconstruction—reportedly parting ways with both special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and offensive line coach James Campen.

As opposed to last offseason, when the two were retained in the transition from Matt Rhule to Frank Reich, the organization has taken a tough step forward in their fresh direction with new head coach Dave Canales.

Here’s how their fans are feeling about the departures:

Austin Corbett reacts to departure of OL coach James Campen

Panthers G Austin Corbett saluted his ole pal James Campen, who has reportedly been dismissed by the team.

Another well-respected coach is reportedly on the outs in Charlotte. And now, another team leader has reacted to the second gut punch.

As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on Friday, the Carolina Panthers will not be retaining offensive line coach James Campen going into the 2024 season. News of this departure quickly followed the reported exit of special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who also served as the team’s interim head coach for the final six games of the 2023 campaign.

Tabor’s departure was met by a pretty sad tweet from a seemingly disappointed Johnny Hekker. Then, right guard Austin Corbett, who spent the last two seasons with Campen, posted this shortly after:

Even before arriving in Carolina, Campen built up a rock-solid reputation across the league. Including his two seasons with the Panthers, the former offensive lineman has spent 20 years on the NFL sidelines.

Campen, like Tabor, will now be free to pursue other opportunities elsewhere.

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Panthers reportedly not retaining OL coach James Campen

Panthers OL coach James Campen, like ST coordinator Chris Tabor, is also reportedly on the outs in Carolina.

Well, now both Chris Tabor and James Campen won’t be surviving another head-coaching change in Charlotte.

As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Carolina Panthers will not be retaining Campen—their offensive line coach of the last two seasons. This development comes just minutes after the reported departure of Tabor, Carolina’s special teams coordinator.

Both coaches were hired by the Panthers ahead of the 2022 campaign, which would prove to be the final season for former head coach Matt Rhule. And both, despite the transition to the next head coach in Frank Reich the following offseason, were kept on the staff for 2023.

Campen came over with nearly two decades’ worth of NFL coaching experience. He previously spent time with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans.

After an encouraging 2022 from his unit, Campen would head one of the most generous offensive lines in football this past season. The Panthers allowed a total of 65 sacks, tying for the second-most in the NFL.

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Aaron Rodgers savagely roasted ex-Packers coach on Hard Knocks: ‘You look fat as [expletive]’

He just came right at him, no holds barred.

Based on his antics with the New York Jets on Hard Knocks thus far, Aaron Rodgers seems to be getting pretty comfortable in his new digs. He’s already carrying himself like the “wise superstar veteran,” and everyone around the organization appears to be in awe.

How Rodgers acts with the Jets even extended to their joint practice with the Carolina Panthers. Most of us probably didn’t know that a former Green Bay Packers coach, James Campen — who was their offensive line coach for 15 seasons from 2004-2018 — now holds the same role with the Panthers.

And when Rodgers went to greet Campen after all their time together in Green Bay, he wasted no time roasting him. In fact, insulting Campen in a “friendly” way was the very first thing Rodgers said.

(Warning: NSFW language in the video below.)

This might be one of the few times I find Rodgers relatable because that is somewhat also how I greet my oldest friends. Sure, you might exchange pleasantries and compliments, but you’re blasting them at first, hoping they roast you back so you can have a little fun together.

Even still, how Rodgers insulted Campen was a little jarring. If only because it catches you off guard in the context of a full episode.

James Campen refuses to disclose details on O-line’s postgame meeting

What happens in the Panthers’ OL room stays in the Panthers’ OL room.

What happens in the Carolina Panthers’ offensive line room stays in the Carolina Panthers’ offense line room, especially after what happened this weekend.

Position coach James Campen was asked about the somewhat infamous meeting he held following the team’s 27-0 preseason loss to the New York Jets—one where their quarterbacks took quite a beating. But he wouldn’t disclose any details.

“That meeting will stay in that room, right through that wall,” Campen replied with a smile. “But thanks for askin’.”

Saturday saw No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young absorb a pair of bruising blows and a sack over three drives. It wasn’t better for backup Matt Corral, who ate four sacks on the day.

Campen would, however, go on to explain why he called for the powwow.

“I just think at times when things don’t go so well—obviously—as a group, getting together and makin’ sure that things don’t overlap into the next day,” he added. “I mean, there’s a lot of things—that’s why they call it training camp, there’s preseason games. But you don’t take any opportunity to compete—you wanna win, you wanna do well.”

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Cameron Erving on Panthers’ O-line in preseason opener: ‘The s— wasn’t good enough’

Cameron Erving on Panthers’ O-line in preseason loss to Jets: ‘The s— was not good enough at any level . . . ‘

The Carolina Panthers’ offensive line played party pooper on Saturday.

In what was supposed to be a cheery introduction into a new era for the hopeful franchise, yesterday’s preseason opener ended being quite the stinker. The visiting New York Jets, even without four-time Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers, had their way—big-dogging the cats en route to a 27-0 thrashing.

Chief among Carolina’s issues was a feeble effort from its hog mollies, who combined to allow eight quarterback hits and five sacks during the exhibition. After the game, veteran Cameron Erving spoke about the private (and probably not peachy) meeting held by offensive line coach James Campen and the unit.

“Camp called us in, and we just talked. We had to keep it real with each other; the s— wasn’t good enough,” Erving said, via Darin Gantt of Panthers.com. “Top to bottom, it doesn’t matter if it was preseason, regular season, or offseason. The s— was not good enough at any level, from any position, myself included, especially myself. All we can do is come back, try to regroup, and f—ing fix it.”

From starter Bryce Young to backup Matt Corral, the Panthers’ passers faced a constant stream of pressure throughout the contest. Starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who allowed a crushing hit of Young on the opening drive, had a similar sentiment on the sour performance.

“Just disappointed. Not what we’re looking for at all,” he said. “He shouldn’t be getting hit at all. That’s on us. We just weren’t good enough today.

“We’ve got to just attack it. A lot of things on tape we’ve got to fix. So that’s the goal going into next week.”

Hopefully for Young, Corral and the rest of the offense, the group will just flush this one and light a few matches.

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Panthers’ O-line holds private meeting after preseason loss to Jets

The Panthers’ offensive line and coach James Campen held a private meeting after allowing five sacks in Saturday’s preseason loss to the Jets.

The Carolina Panthers are learning to set the standard, and what they did this afternoon certainly didn’t meet it.

Saturday’s 27-0 loss in the preseason opener was headlined by an overwhelmed offensive line—one that was thoroughly pushed around by a talented and deep New York Jets defense. As a result, offensive line coach James Campen and his hog mollies held a private meeting after the performance to talk it out.

Carolina’s line allowed eight quarterback hits in the outing, five of which ended as sacks. Rookie quarterback Bryce Young absorbed a few of them in his very first preseason showing, but was encouraged by the unit’s initiative.

“That’s something’s that big for us—not just as a unit, but as a team,” Young said. “As a unit—you can see the score—that’s not what we wanna do, that’s not what we wanna be. It’s no panic or reaction, but we have to be proactive in trying to get better and grow.

“And yeah, I think that speaks to the accountability. That’s them, on their own, going out and trying to establish the standard and talk about things. All of us—we’re in the locker room and no one’s thinking, ‘Oh, it’s okay. What we put out is whatever.’ That’s not who we wanna be, who we need to be.”

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